A competitive procurement process is conducted wherever possible; however, due to the specialised nature of the industry, ACT Health frequently accesses single select and restricted select procurement methodologies. These procurement methodologies are justified under the following circumstances:

The procurement needs to be compatible with existing medical equipment, both hardware and software, within the clinical setting.

Clinical units are seeking to standardise medical equipment with existing equipment. This mitigation strategy reduces the risk of human error in the delivery of clinical practice because equipment is familiar due to established equipment operating procedures.

A limited number of providers possess the specialised medical knowledge and/or expertise that can fulfil the ACT Health’s requirements.

Timing may preclude public tenders being called in situations that could result in disruption to medical services.

Single select and/or restricted select procurement processes are completed in accordance with the provisions of the Government Procurement Regulations 2007 (http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/sl/2007-29/default.asp) and are approved by the Director-General with a statement of justification, as required by the Government Procurement Act 2001 (Government Procurement Act 2001).

Frequently, ACT Health relies on the NSW Department of Commerce Standing Offer Agreements for restricted select procurement. Through open tender, NSW has a selected panel of preferred suppliers/providers from which procurement is made.

To use the buying power of the NSW Government, ACT Health frequently asks panel suppliers to offer NSW Department of Commerce pricing on tenders. This strategy:

increases the likelihood of better value for money to the Territory in comparison to a standalone open tender

creates a more efficient procurement process.

Social procurement is considered wherever possible. However, due to the specialised nature of its operations, ACT Health is not always able to consider utilising social enterprises. ACT Health did not undertake any social procurement in the 2015–16 year.

External sources of labour and services

In 2015-16, ACT Health engaged a range of external consultants and contractors to undertake services in the following areas: